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Swatch keeps time in Athens

We haven't gotten around to watching too much of the Athens Olympics but when we have watched we've been pausing the
TiVo frequently to try and catch what technology they're using to time events. And it's the time-obsessed Swiss
gadgeteers at Swatch determining who gets the gold, silver, and bronze (you may remember our feature about
timing the Tour de France). During last Monday's
100-meter backstroke race, for instance, Swatch touch-sensitive pads accurately measured the one-hundredth-of-a-second
difference between second- and third-place swimmers. The call would have been impossible without the technology. Track
event cameras are even more sensitive, taking 1,000 images per second at the finish line. Swatch is also measuring
volleyball serves with sonar, pacing cyclists via transponders, and tracking marathoners with microchips tied to their
shoes. But what we really want to know is, will they be able to aid the beleaguered judges of men's gymnastics by 2008
in Beijing? (Poor Paul Hamm).